Update: If you were amazed by this, don't miss the hilarious spoof. It's even better.…
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Darpa has finally approved the contract for Boston Dynamics' LS3—which stands for Legged Squad Support System—for the US Marines. Like BigDog, it will travel autonomously for 20 miles without refueling, carrying 400 pounds of equipment for the soldiers in its squad.

Mark Raibert, the president of the company and the principal investigator for the program, is excited:

If LS3 can offload 50 lbs from the back of each solider in a squad, it will reduce warfighter injuries and fatigue and increase the combat effectiveness of our troops. The LS3 program shows just how serious DARPA and the Marine Corps are about building practical, legged robots to offload our dismounted troops.

Makes perfect sense. Let's hope that the brilliant engineers at Boston Dynamics—who are not only doing amazing robots for the military, but amazing robotic systems, period—can bring their amazing developments to other aspects of human life beyond war.